


Arachnid

by Dewstorm



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Explicit Language, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-07-15 11:57:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7221454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dewstorm/pseuds/Dewstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oh no! Nico's pet tarantula has gone missing! Hopefully, it's not in that blonde guy's apartment who is terrified of tarantulas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arachnid

**Author's Note:**

> I like to think Will's fear of spiders is at Annabeth's level.

There is nothing more soothing and peaceful than being woken up at 7 in the morning by a blood curdling scream of terror, except maybe a punch in the face or impromptu ice bucket challenge. 

So yes, Nico’s beautiful dreams of dancing skeleton butterflies puffed into smoke as his eyes snapped open in groggy surprise. What the hell? He lived in an apartment complex, half the fucking residents are probably awake now because some asshole decided to have a panic attack at the ass crack of dawn. Okay, maybe 7am wasn’t that early, but Nico doesn’t even get to his morning coffee by 10. 

After briefly contemplating murder, weighing the negative and positive consequences of stabbing a dream ruiner with a dull butter knife, Nico decided the best option for him would to just go back to sleep and pretend he hadn’t heard anything. Hey, maybe the scream was the person getting murdered anyway. 

Nico actually started to drift back asleep, the fluttering skeleton butterflies came swarming back in beautiful pirouettes. It reminded him of the song about dancing fireflies, expect Nico’s is a tab bit more creepy, but hey, Nico is always a bit more creepy at everything. Ah, his bed just felt so warm and soft and cozy and-

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

Okay, who the fuck saw the coming. 

Nico shot straight up in bed. He didn’t need to see his own face to know how wrecked and sleep deprived he must look. College finals and an amusement park job have really been a bitch the past week and this was supposed to his day to just sleep and lay in bed. He also knew that someone was going to die today because an asshole had to go and ruin everything. 

How to kill them? The butter knife is good, but it’s also not very creative. He could go all Walter White and dissolve the screamer in acid. He could find some hungry rats or dogs. He could also start a fire and have a nice human roast. The possibilities were truly endless and there were way too many options. Nico did know, though, that once the person was dead, he’d research the weird part of the internet for ways to bring people back to life, so he could kill the jerk again and then- 

“THERE IS A MOTHERFRICKIN DEMON SPIDER AND WHY IS NOBODY HELPING ME!!!!” 

Nico awkwardly turned towards his tarantula cage, only to find that that it wasn’t on the nightstand, but it seemingly fell to the floor overnight. Huh? 

And also, shit, it’s gone. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Will Solace. Of course, it was Will fucking Solace. The nurse or doctor-to-be or whatever was the one screaming his head off about a ‘literal monster from hell’. This is the same douchebag who always gently asks Nico if he’s getting enough to eat as if he fucking knows best. Ironically, he also asks if he gets enough sleep when today he’s the cause for the bags under Nico’s eyes. He annoys the crap out of Nico, he wants to throttle him every time Will opens his condescending mouth, even if he’s just giving a friendly “Hello, neighbor!” and then humming Mr. Rogers. Going into his apartment was definitely the last thing Nico wants to do so early in the morning. 

Oh. And another thing. Will Solace is kind of the hottest piece of ass on the entire goddamn planet and is hella gay. Nico can’t look him in the face for over ten seconds before needing some alone time. And now he has to embarrass himself by claiming ownership over his stupid tarantula and making a fool out of himself. He didn’t even buy the tarantula, his half-sister did. ‘I thought of you when I saw it,’ she had said. Wow. Nico is just as cute and heartwarming as a giant, furry spider. 

He still loved his tarantula though and if Will Solace killed it, he’ll soon meet it again in the afterlife. Also, Nico can totally hear sobbing and loud banging noises from the other side of the door so he’d better act fast. 

Nico gave a tentative knock on the apartment door, causing a silence to fall on the other side. “Um, Will? It’s Nico, your neig-” 

He was abruptly cut off from his introduction as the door in front of him was violently ripped open. Nico didn’t even have time to think as a nicely tanned hand lunged out and gripped the collar of his shirt before yanking him forwards into a firm chest and into the apartment. 

Will Solace held on to him for dear life as he slammed the door behind Nico. He then proceeded to collapse to the floor, still holding Nico, and then rolling himself under his kitchen table. The fuck? Nico stared over at the blonde from his own spot on the floor as Will returned the look in a more worried manner. There was an uncomfortable silence before Will whispered a terrified, “I lost it.” 

Nico, still feeling dizzy after the sudden entrance and being bear-hugged, dumbly responded, “Lost what?” 

Will snapped up so fast that he banged his head on the top of the table he was hiding under. Letting out a low groan, he grabbed his head with both hands to try to ease his accidental, self-inflicted pain. Nico was sure he should be concerned, but honestly, he was just trying not to laugh at the dork under the table. 

“I lost the spider,” Will mumbled through his hands. “It was under my coffee table, and I turned to call one of my friends to get them to come over, but the monster was gone when I looked back.” 

“Um, so where’s your phone? Is someone coming?” Nico asked. 

Will turned his head towards his living area, so Nico did also and saw a shattered phone laying on the floor. “I dropped in while it was still ringing, so no one is coming to save me.” He explained in a depressing tone.

Nico rolled his eyes, this was pretty dumb. “Why didn’t you just, I don’t know, leave?” 

He slowly turned towards Nico with a deadly serious expression. “I could never abandon my post.” 

Okay, Will looked pretty terrified. Nico knew he shouldn’t find this as hilarious as he does, but he can’t help it. He was practically shaking under his dumb table. Speaking of being under the table. An absolutely devilish grin appeared on Nico’s face.

“I hate to point this out,” He really didn’t hate to point this out. “But if you’re so concerned about a tarantula roaming around the apartment, then why are you laying on the floor? Isn’t that where it’s walking around?” 

Will stared blankly at him before realization slowly spread across his face along with the purest look of horror Nico has ever seen. And that’s saying a lot because Nico has seen tons of horror in his life. 

The next ten seconds were an interesting surge of a dramatic flailing of limbs as Will scrambled out from under the table in fear. Nico’s a little ashamed to admit he did peek (openly stare) at Will’s butt as he hauled himself on top of the table. But hey, it’s a nice butt, even if it is Will Solace’s butt. (Especially if it’s Will Solace’s butt). He laid flat on his back staring up at the ceiling panting aggressively. His hands began patting down his body as if trying to reassure himself the tarantula was not on him. 

The hardest thing Nico has ever done in his life was not cracking up laughing at Will’s frantic panic. He should probably tell Will the tarantula is his and that it couldn’t hurt him in any possible way. He really should. Yeah, he should.

Haha. No. 

“Nico.” Will started, breathly. 

Hmmmm. His name sounded pretty good in Will’s absolutely annoying voice… also not something to think about when your kind-of-crush is about to piss himself in fear.

“I will give you my entire life savings, the lease to this apartment, the keys to my car, my entire harmonica collection and I’ll bake you cookies every week until I die if you get the scary demon away.” Will’s face was beet red. From fear, exhaustion, exertion, embarrassment, Nico didn’t know, but it did make him feel a little bad. Also, seeing Will with a plate of cookies every week might not be horrible. 

Of course, Nico is going to get the tarantula, that’s the entire reason he came over here. Also, all of this is technically Nico’s fault. He actually should be the one baking cookies for Will to make up for his pain and suffer or any other bullshit, but he’s already determined that the blonde doesn’t need to know any of that. 

“I mean,” Nico tried to put on his best-conflicted face. “You did wake me up at 7 in the morning. I was just coming over here to tell you to shut the hell up so the rest of the building could get some sleep.” 

Will made a low wailing noise as he sat up and lead over the side of the table to look at Nico with an absolutely not adorable pouty face. “I’m so sorry! But I’m literally begging you to help me out, I swear I’ll do anything for you. Anything!” He practically yelled while gesturing wildly with one arm. 

After a pause he looked away from Nico and added more solemnly, “I’ll even stop talking to you if that’s what want.” 

That’s not what I want at all, Nico thought. Will saying he’d stop talking to Nico actually was making Nico realize how much he really, really didn’t want that to happen. He would never admit that out loud to anyone, especially to Will. Nico secretly enjoyed Will’s constant pestering and attention. Plus, Will really shouldn’t be promising Nico anything he wants, because Nico sure as hell wants a lot from Will. 

Ew. Stop dirty thoughts, a tarantula needs to be saved.

“I guess I can help you get the tarantula,” Nico said at last, Will’s face relaxing as he sighed in relief. “But only if we keep it alive.”

Will seemed confused by the statement with a slight tilt to his head. “Of course, we’ll keep it alive. I don’t kill things, I heal them.” 

How cute. Now how to find the tarantula. Nico could probably go back to his own apartment and get some bugs to lure it out of hiding with the promise of food, but then he’d expose the tarantula as his own pet and Will would most likely get upset with him. “I don’t suppose you have any crickets on you.”

The blonde gave a small smile. “Fresh out.”

“My expert opinion suggests that the tarantula is under furniture, they like dark places,” Nico said as he stood up and started walking towards Will’s living area. He glanced back to see Will looking over at him his wide, blue, gorgeous eyes. Nico is going to need his help, so he better get off his fucking table. 

Rolling his eyes, Nico got on his hands and knees to peer under the coach. This apartment was not-so-surprisingly clean, so the only thing he saw was, bingo, his mischievous tarantula. The little guy as curled and tucked up into himself at the center of the couch. Poor fella, Will’s screams must have terrified him. Kind of funny actually. Will gets scared of the tarantula and hides under the table, the tarantula gets scared of Will and hides under the couch.

“All right Will, it’s time to put on your big boy pants and get over here.” He sits up on his knees to look over at Will again. He finds Will not meeting his gaze, face flushed red from blushing. God, what’s wrong now, was he checking out Nico’s ass or something while he was bent over? Whatever it was, Will doesn’t seem like he’s going to move off his table.

“Will, stop being an asshole. The tarantula is scared too.” Nico is not very patient, especially when time is being wasted for stupid reasons. “Do you have a broom and a box?” 

“Um, yeah?” Will answered, pointing to a closet door in the kitchen. “There’s broom in there and a shoebox in my room. Why?” 

Nico got off Will’s floor for the second time that day as he walked over to where Will sat on the table. He stood directly in front of him, Will’s face flushing even redder. “I’m going to get the broom, you’re going to get off this fucking table and get the shoebox from your room.” Nico stated calmly in his ‘scary Nico voice’. 

The blonde appeared like he was trying to make himself smaller as he shrunk down on the table while mumbling a meek ‘okay’. He made a show of slowly placing both feet on the floor of the kitchen. He gave a small glance towards the living room before full sprinting down a thin hallway where Nico assumed his bedroom was located. Idiot. 

The dark-haired boy promptly opened the closet door to retrieve the broom and made his way back to the couch. “It’s okay Peter, just chill and try not to get squished by Dr. Dumbass.” He whispered to his pet. 

Will poked his head out of the hallway. “I have the shoebox, what’s going to happen?”

“I’m going to use the broom to nudge him out from under the couch,” Nico explained. “When he’s out, you’ll throw the shoebox over him and he’s caught. That easy.” 

It was a very easy and simple plan, but Will still seemed apprehensive over the whole situation. Regardless of his inner feelings, the blonde still held up his shoebox with a tiny smile to show he was ready. 

Okay. Here goes nothing. 

Nico got on his hands and knees again and slide the stick part of the broom under the couch. Alright, Nico thought, I’ll just tap Peter a couple times to get him to walk towards Will. And that’s exactly what happen, at least at first. The broom touched one of the fuzzy legs, so the tarantula uncurled and started to move away from it. Unfortunately, he seemed to have a bit of a stubborn side and shuffled at a lazy pace.

“Ugh, come on. You’re a spider, not a slug.” Nico groaned to himself as Will shifted unconfidently on the other side of the couch with his box raised up and open. 

A little frustrated with the lack of cooperation from the tarantula, Nico gave him a rather harsh prod with the end of the broom stick. Which, in retrospect, was a really dumb thing to do. He had spooked the tarantula, who then took off as fast as his little tarantula legs could carry him towards Will. Fucking shit. Will obviously wasn’t expecting the sudden charge from the great beast and squealed at the top of his lungs in terror. 

“Drop the box on it!” Nico yelled and stood up off the ground, trying to get Will’s focus back. “Quickly! Before he gets away!” 

And Will did drop the box. Will also missed completely and the box landed about a foot away from Peter. Nico should have seen the next part coming. 

After missing the tarantula with the box and being left defenseless, Will did the only logical thing he could think of. Jumping at Nico and climbing up him like a literal tree. 

“Agh! Will, what the fuck!” Nico flailed around with a broom in one hand and Will dangling across his back, holding on to him and trembling in fear, all while trying not to step on his pet tarantula. The sudden weight on his back made him stumble around the room as he attempted to regain his balance. 

Luckily for Will, Nico is a lot stronger than he looked, but that still doesn’t change the fact that Will significantly taller than him. When Nico had both feet evenly planted on the ground again, he could finally observe his surroundings. Where the hell is Peter the tarantula? 

He heard Will gasp in his ear, something that should not have felt as good as it did, and Nico turned to see the tarantula booking it towards Will’s hallway. 

Nico acted fast. He ran forward, with Will thumping against his back, and placed the broom in front of Peter. It effectively prevented the arachnid’s journey forward. Then the little creature darted towards the couch again. 

Oh no you don’t. 

Using the stick end of the broom again, Nico made hockey-like movements by tapping the sides of the floor next to the tarantula to influence his path towards the discarded shoebox that was lying open on its side. Will was whimpering and shifting his grip on Nico, which normally would have been a great distraction. But not now. Nico was more focused than he’s ever been. The tarantula, scared and confused, ran right into the open box.

Now both Nico and Will gasped. 

Nico drove across the room towards the box, chucking the broom away from him as he did. He landed right next to the box, but Will also fell right on top of him and was crushing him into the ground. Nico tried to reach the box to close it before his stupid pet decided to make a run for it again, but his hand was just barely missing it. 

Goddamnit! 

His anger didn’t last for long as Will did the ballsiest thing maybe in his whole life. He inched his way up Nico’s body and put his own hand out to slam the cardboard box shut. He had trapped the tarantula.

The room was silent, save for Nico and Will’s heavy breathing. 

“Nico?” 

“Yeah?” 

“I think...I think I’m in love with you.” 

“Haha. Funny.”

…

“Nico?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you wanna make out?” 

“Yeah.” 

Six months later, Nico and Will still love to tell people the story about how they got together. 

Also, Percy and Jason knew it was a good idea to break into Nico’s apartment to steal his tarantula and put it in Will’s. But Nico didn’t need to know that. Nope.


End file.
